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The original Labour Party was founded in 1910 . It was based on the remnants of the Independent Political Labour League , the first real working-class party in New Zealand. While the IPLL had managed to elect one MP to Parliament, it quickly began to collapse into disarray — internal disputes about the party's political alignment were a significant factor, as was poor organisation and coordination. The Labour Party was an attempt to relaunch the IPLL. In the 1911 Election , the Labour Party retained representation in Parliament. It did not, however, represent the totality of the left-wing vote — the Socialist Party and various independent candidates had also attracted a certain amount of support. In 1912 , a "Unity Conference" was called, aiming to unite the diverse leftist factions. The Socialists refused to attend, but a number of independent activists agreed to take part in discussions. In the end, a new party, called the United Labour Party , was formed, consisting of the Labour Party and various independents such as Bill Veitch . Later, the majority of the United Labour Party would merge with the Socialists to form the Social Democratic Party . This party would then merge with those elements of the United Labour Party which had remained independent, thereby forming the Labour Party which exists today. |
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